The Aftermath
by lg.0131
Summary: With many dead, the loss of Renesmee Cullen is another crushing blow in the despair raining down in Forks. As the Volturi wage war against the Cullens and Quileutes, will they be able to continue their resistance of the oppressive Italian coven?


**A/N: As a mother, this is the hardest thing I have ever had to write. I know Renesmee's death is devastating, but this story is not a fluffy one by nature. I am eager to know what you think!**

**Summary: With many dead, the loss of Renesmee Cullen is another crushing blow in the despair raining down in Forks, Washington. As the Volturi gain momentum in their war against the Cullens and the Quileutes, the members of both deal with the hardships of losing loved ones and continuing to fight the oppression of the Italian coven. Will mysterious newcomers and a few old faces hold the key to protecting the freedom they have all fought so hard for?**

**Chapter One**

**Jacob's POV**

**Rain misted through the sky, not enough to bother, but enough to wrap the clearing in a thick fog. Water still dripped from many branches in the surrounding forest, and it was silent except for that, as if everything but the spirits had gone from this place. They were loitering close to the earth here, unable to decide in which life they wished to live, this one or the next. **

**I looked at the small gathering of people around me. Both her family and mine were there, what was left of them. My sad, heavy eyes read the familiar names on the headstones that littered the cemetery, **_**Dr. Carlisle Cullen, Esme Cullen, Emmett Cullen, Billy Black, Embry Call, Leah Clearwater. **_

**A lump rose in my throat as I reread the newest tombstone, a polished, granite piece, with intricate carvings along the edges and her name, Renesmee Carlie Cullen. Looking at the dates, anyone else would think it had been the untimely death of a four year-old child, but to me, those four years had been a lifetime. A lifetime cut unbelievably short. **

**With trembling hands, I touched the urn lovingly, feeling the cool metal beneath my fingertips. I wish I could have touched her face, looked at her sleeping form like I had at my mother's funeral, but ashes were all I had left of my beloved. **_**Nessie**_**. My heart ached as I imagined her face, her shining eyes, and all that unruly hair. **

**Giant tears spilled from my black eyes, and I wiped at them furiously, Bella tightened her grip on my arm. God, how hard she was fighting to be strong, but she was denied the relief that my tears were bringing me. Her expression was that of suffering, and I pulled her closer to me, sharing her pain a thousand fold. **

**The tribe's shaman said a closing prayer, sending her soul into the waiting arms of God, and the slow beat of the drums began. The pack gathered around forming a circle, their eyes lowered to the ground as they began the dance we had done so often in the last few years. Once again, I walked over to where they moved, their legs shuffling with the beating of the drums, and prepared to enter the circle. **

**Once Seth had passed by, I stepped into the center, beginning to sing the prayers I had sung last January for my father. Even that had not been as bad as this, at least Nessie had been there, I had scooped her up, and she had pressed her little palms against my face, wiping away the silent tears. Now, I was alone as I lifted my legs and willed them to follow along with the loud heartbeat of the drum. It was the same fast-paced rhythm her heart had always beat to. **

**I choked down a sob as I threw my head back and stared at the grey sky, my arms outstretched at my sides. My insides felt as though they were being ripped out as I willed her spirit to leave this earth and travel on into the arms of her ancestors, my voice trembling as I spoke the ancient Quileute words. I stumbled upon a verse as my chest began to shake, and a howl erupted from my throat. It was piercing and tortured, as I emptied my soul of everything I couldn't say in words. **

**Suddenly, I was shivering violently, my skin tingling as my muscles shuddered. With only a moments notice, I broke away from the circle of my brothers and ran toward the forest. I heard a ripping noise, and I wasn't sure if it was my clothing or my skin, but I didn't care. My toes clenched the earth as I sprinted, gaining more speed as I shifted seamlessly into my wolf form. I instantly felt better, away from everyone, rushing through the forest as fast as my paws could take me. **

**Shrubs and dead leaves shredded beneath my sharp claws, but the underbrush began to thin as I reached the cliff. The terrain became smooth, and I slowed my pace as I felt the stone against my paws. The hard wind assaulted my sensitive nostrils, and I shook my muzzle to clear them a bit. Hundreds of feet below, the churning waves pounded against the wall of rock, insistent on breaking through. **

**It seemed a life time ago, when Nessie and I had come here for the first time. She had delighted in the height of the cliff, of how it jutted out across the water, like a natural platform. **

**She said it gave her perspective, to come up here, everything else dropping away and giving her space to think. A few tears were swept away with the wind as I missed the feeling of her body against mine, she had often snuggled against me when we were here. I would never feel her again, never, and the thought made my stomach clench with despair. **

**Looking down the front of the cliff, I eyed the thundering waves below. They rose and broke against the stones, their angry fists beating upon the land viciously. It was as if they were determined to bring the wall of earth down, no matter how long it took. **

**I wondered if the waves would eventually win the battle. Would the land tire of fending off the unrelenting ocean? Perhaps, that is how it would turn out with the Volturi, that over time, there simply wouldn't be enough of us left to stand against our oppressors. Just as the number of waves in the ocean was endless, the Volturi had enough vampires and minions to continue throwing them against the wall of our resistance. Maybe, in the end, it was certain we would fail. Were we all simply prolonging the inevitable?**

**Bella's POV**

**My entire body was numb, every ounce of happiness I had ever felt had completely drained away, and only heart-wrenching agony was left in its place. How could this have happened? How could my beautiful, animated, little girl be gone? **

**It was if I were stuck in some horrible nightmare, willing myself to wake up, but finding no escape. Jacob trembled beside me, and I tightened my grip on his arm, clinging to my best friend as he sobbed. I knew he felt this miserable pain as acutely as I did, and I wished I could have cried with him. **

**As the drums began to beat and Jacob joined the wolves in their ceremonial dance, I couldn't hold on any longer. Edward seemed to sense the hitch in my breath, and he pulled me closer to him. I buried my face in the crook of his neck, realizing that our three-piece puzzle would never be whole again. My body shook with my own tearless sobs, and he wrapped his arms around me. **

**Jake's howl rang out through the clearing, and a cold shudder ran through me. Every bit of pain I felt was right there, echoed in his throaty release. I saw him tear away from the circle, his body quivering as he phased, his tattered clothes landing softly against the wet grass. I envied his ability to shed his human form, to leave behind this dismal place. **

**I remembered the beginning of last year, when the killings had really started. After several failed attempts at all-out battle, the Volturi had grown weary of our strong resistance. Rather than meeting the unified front of Cullens and the wolves over and over again, they decided to take a more guerilla-styled approach when it came to the fighting. Though we had successfully dodged a few assassination attempts previously, the Volturi had dug up some seriously skilled professionals over the last year. **

**Their newest tactic seemed to be to divide and conquer; they separated their target from the rest of us, and overwhelmed them with force. Even though we were strong, they seemed to pair three or four of them to one of us, giving them a big advantage, and our numbers were dwindling. **

**Jacob's father had been the first, but his handicap had made him an ideal target, and good practice for the execution of their plan. They continued to pick off the Quileutes, catching a few of the wolves during their patrols, and many other mortals who belonged to the tribe. **

**Carlisle, Esme, and Emmett had been ambushed on a hunting trip, the attackers completely foreign, leaving Alice blind to it until it was too late. Only Rose managed to escape them, carrying her own arm as she raced back across the wilderness, it had been ripped from its socket by the Volturi's minions. I glanced at the coat she wore slung over her left shoulder, wishing we could have reattached the limb. **

**The drums came to a halt, and the pack issued a final prayer before returning to stand with us in front of the grave. A grave, for my sweet Renesmee, I could have never imagined such a horror. **

**A new wave of sadness enveloped me as Jasper and Seth stepped forward, the younger man's hands shivering as they grasped the ropes on either side of the hole. We had placed the urn with her ashes inside the child-size coffin, and it was all to be buried here in the same place where so many of our other loved ones remained. **

"**Wait!" I screamed, the word bursting forth from my chest. **

**I pushed myself away from Edward and scrambled forward, my hands reaching out to encircle the smooth wood of the tiny box. My body stretched across it, and I rocked against it, frustrated with the my inability to cry. **

"**Bella," Edward said softly, his hand touching my shoulder gently.**

"**Get away from me!" I hissed, and I saw him take a step back. **

**The look on his face was completely despondent, but he nodded silently. Turning back to the small group, he suggested everyone return to the house for the meal Alice and Emily had prepared.**

"**I don't think it's wise to leave her here alone," Jasper whispered to Edward.**

"**I won't," he replied.**

**I didn't care if they found me, if they ripped my limbs from my body and burnt me alive. Nothing could compare to the flames of misery that were consuming me now. **

**More than anything, I wanted to pull my daughter close to me again, to feel the tickle of her rampant curls against my nose, and to steal a few kisses on her warm, rosy cheeks. I swallowed hard and pressed my forehead to the top of the coffin, it was all that I had left of my beautiful Renesmee. **


End file.
